TROUBLE ACCORDING TO HUMPHREY

The tiny hamster with a big heart is back. Humphrey is serious about his job as classroom pet for the students of Room 26. He loves his humans and always offers a helping paw when possible. This penchant for good deeds often leads the frisky little philosopher on perilous adventures. In this latest of three lively outings, big troubles descend on Room 26. When Humphrey goes home with a chosen student each weekend, he discovers troubles there too. Because Humphrey knows how to pick the lock on his cage, he is able to reunite estranged friends and help a family down on its luck because of unemployment. Thematically advancing the story, Room 26 is deeply involved in a project of building a community dubbed Humphreyville. The moral conundrum at hand, however, arises when Humphrey finally gets caught outside his cage and one student, Miranda, gets blamed for it. Should Humphrey reveal the truth and lose his freedom or let Miranda take the fall? In his characteristically upbeat way, Humphrey offers wise tidbits on tackling life’s inevitable troubles. (Fiction. 7-12)